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                             QUEST FOR ASIA
                           The Persian Empire
                            By Stefan Hrtel
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WARNING: YOU NEED FANTASTIC WORLDS TO PLAY THIS SCENARIO!

This scenario records the rise of one of the greatest empires of the ancient world, the Achaemenid Persian empire. The scenario starts in October 550 BC, shortly after the Persian conquest of the Median "empire" and ends in May 522 BC, when the usurper Gaumata takes control of Persia. The 30 years in between is the story of Cyrus the Great and Cambyses, his son. This time was a time of stunning conquests, most of them by the king who created this empire. 
There is another scenario by me, which begins about 200 years after this scenario's end. It's called "Quest for Asia-the conquests of Alexander the Great". 

Civilizations:
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Lydians: Under Croesus. He is one of the best-known kings of the pre-Persian era. He was also very rich, allowing him to moblize a great army. Therefore, the units of the Lydians are very powerful in this scenario. That's why I reccomend this civilization.

Babylonians: Nabonidus was a pretty weak king, although he ruled the largest empire of the world at that time. He was a cruel despot, and a bad ruler. This does reflect in the scenario. The units are pretty weak, compared with others. The size of his empire make the Babylonians playable, though.

Greeks: A not-for-play civilization. They're designed as a blockade between Greece and Asia Minor, and to prevent that there are too many Barbarian cities. Their ruler is Polykrates, well-known by Friedrich Schiller's poem 'The ring of Polykrates'.

Egyptians: Their chance of survival is good, since they're protected by the Babylonian 'block'. Their units are fairly powerful. They haven't really been designed for play but they can be fun.

Persians: The Persians are the ultimate civ in this scenario! They're the protagonists, and they have the most powerful units of all. They do have very good chances to win the scenario. 

Athenians, Spartans: Both are too isolated to make the game. Even later in the game, they will never have a chance to win. They DO have the chance to survive. Because of their isolation. NOTE: The Spartans have the red color, since that was the spartan color. Don't get irritated. They're no Barbarians. 

Iranians, Arabs, Cilicians, Ammonium: These states are represented by Barbarian cities. These cities do count as military goals. You will be rewarded when you conquer some cities. This also counts for cities of "true" civs.

Historical notes: 
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As described above, there where some territories I HAD to involve, but either didn't know enough about or that they where too 'barbarian' to create a complete civilization for. Cilicia, for example, was a large and important succesor state of the Assyrian empire.In the scenario, the state is sourrounded by Cilician defenders. I only included one city, Tarsus, because there is no suitable terrain for other cities.
On the other hand the cities in the north are examples for the nomadic tribes of Iranian culture of the territory called 'Sacia'. This was a huge territory, covering all of the area of Kazakhstan and the smaller states of the former Soviet Union. A great deal of this territory was conquered by the Persians, but much was left. I originally planned to include the Scythians as well, but their importance was not so great until the reign of Darius the Great (522-486 BC)-another idea for a good scenario(?).
What importance did Urartu have? It was a 'Kingdom' in the area of northern Kurdistan. Most of the area was under Median/Persian control, and therefore, I didn't think it was important to include it. If you think otherwise, let me know!

Units:
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There are several new units in this scenario. Each Civ has it's own Defense unit and attack unit. The Persians have a huge variety of 'personal' units: Archers, Cavalry, Chariots, elephants, 2 Defenders, Diplomats. This makes them more flexible than all other civs. These unit are very powerful. To find out the rest, check the military advisor. 

Wonders:
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There are following wonders in this scenario:

WONDER                   CITY
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Pyramids                Memphis
Hanging Gardens         Babylon
Great Harbor            Tyrus
Oracle                  Athens
Median Wall             Ecbatana
Greek War Academy       Sparta
Fertile Farmlands       Babylon
Median Embassy          Ecbatana
Ishtar Gate             Babylon
Ancient Wisdom          Athens
Phoenecian Colonies     Tyrus
Hammurabis' Laws        Babylon
Temple of Amon          Thebes
Acropolis               Athens

Technologies
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The tech tree is now completely modified. Check the Rules if you really want to find out everything. 

Credits
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The Icon for the ancient wisdom is from Alan Hfelt's 'Homeric Age' scenario, as well as the Median Embassy icon.
Units:
AHS: Alan Hfelt
SH: Me
I don't know by who the rest are. If you're the designer of one/more units here, tell me so I can write it here.
The Grassland Icon is from Jesus Balsinde's 'Al Andalus' scenario.
The Mountains-hills graphics are from (I believe) the Cradelands-scenario.
All other graphics where made by me.

The Title graphic is from the book "Es kndet Dareios der Knig...Vom Leben im Persischen Groreich" by Heidemarie Koch. The picture shows the relief of a winged Genius in Pasargadae.
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FEEDBACK:
If you have comments or questions, critics or ideas, then I'd like to read them! If you'd like to know something about Persian history from me, then write me! I'd be happy to tell you anything I know.
Write to this adress:
Stefan.Haertel@t-online.de

Stefan Hrtel, Saturday, March 13th 1999.
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